Houston one of seven finalists to host NCAA Women’s Final Four

Houston, which has a growing history of hosting national events, is in line to add another: the NCAA women’s basketball Final Four.

Houston was one of seven cities named Monday as a finalist to host the women’s championship in 2017-2020, the NCAA announced. The other finalists are Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; Pittsburgh; and Tampa, Fla.

The NCAA will announce the host cities for those Final Fours in November. Houston’s complete bid to the NCAA is due May 2. The NCAA then will conduct a site visit and hear an in-person presentation before making its decision.

This would be the first time for the city to host the women’s basketball championship. The games would be at Toyota Center, and Texas A&M would be the host institution.
This is the second time Houston has tried to get the women’s signature event, but the city was not a finalist in its last bid.

“The NCAA was concerned about how spread-out Houston was, but they saw how the city hosted the NBA All-Star Game (2013) and all that Discovery Green and the convention center area could offer,” said Janis Schmees Burke, CEO of the Houston Sports Authority.

Houston, which hosted the men’s Final Four in 2011, will do so again in 2016 at Reliant Stadium.

Houston made another bid for the 2020 men’s Final Four but did not make the final cut. The cities that are finalists for the men’s championships in 2017-2020 are: Atlanta, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, North Texas (AT&T Stadium in Arlington), Phoenix, San Antonio and St. Louis.

After Houston hosts men’s regional in 2015 and the men’s Final Four in 2016, Reliant Stadium will host the NFL’s Super Bowl in 2017.